Gone || ✔

XIII

I wake up to yet another boring day of life. I've been home for a couple of weeks now, and what a ride that has been. Apparently I have a little 12 year old brother that I never knew about until last week. Mom said when she got a divorce with Kyle (my real dad), he said that he wanted Nick, which is my brother. He wanted to raise him but not me. Which sucks because that really hurt. Mom called Kyle and told him that she wanted to see Nick. So now he's here and it's horrific. He's just like my father.

Annoying and ignorant.

I walk to the bathroom, turn the cold water knob all the way to the left then turn the hot water knob halfway to the left. I strip from my clothes and get in the shower. I let the water take over me and stand there in silence. Banging sounds go through the door and startles me. "Hurry up! You've been in there for almost a whole freaking hour!" Nick's voice echoes throughout the house.

That's what I dislike most about Nick. He can be a complete ass about things and doesn't think twice about what he says, plus he's really loud. "Are you done yet?!" Nick yells through the door, again. I groan in annoyance.

"Chill, I just got out of the shower." I say, slipping on my skinny jeans and then my AFI shirt. Mom has been really nice lately and has been giving me a lot clothes. Why, I don't know. Maybe she felt like she did something wrong to make me run away. Every parent must think that once their child runs away or does something like harming themselves. It makes them feel like they're doing a horrible job parenting.

"Chill, I just got out of the shower." Nick mimics in an annoying, high pitched voice. I know I just met the kid and I know this is really rude, but I wish I have never met him. He's rude to my boyfriend, Jamison, he's rude to my mother like Kyle, he's rude to everyone and he especially hates Derek. This is why mom didn't want Kyle to take Nick, because Kyle is an ass to girls. That's what he taught Nick, to be the same person as himself. It makes me pissed and also sickens me.

"Can you not be so rude like your father?" I try to demand, but it just sounds like I'm his mother. I mentally slap myself in the face. He looks at me amused. "Whatever, mom." He laughs at his pathetic joke and walks to the guest bedroom where he stays twenty-four seven. At least I don't need to hear his rudeness while he's locked up in his room.

I walk into my messy room and tidy it up a bit. I turn to put something away and Jamison is standing there. I put my hand over my heart and breathe deeply. "Jesus Christ, James. Don't scare me like that." I say, closing my eyes. He smiles and hugs me. I love his warm, cuddly hugs.

"I didn't scare you, you just scared yourself." He says, being a smarty. I look up at him and he still has that big, foolish grin on his face. "You look good today, as always." He says and I pull his beanie over his face, smiling like a fool.

"Shut up, no I don't." I say, teasingly.

"You do too." He pulls his hat off and fixes it. "Hey, you have any food?" He asks, changing the topic and letting go of me.

"Dude, I have a fridge right across the room. Of course I do! Help yourself, I'm not your maid." He looks me amused through his thick, black bangs and takes his beanie off and puts it over my head, covering my eyes. I tilt my head back so I can see through the little slits where the hat doesn't cover. I stick my tongue out at him and he licks it. I stick my tongue back in my mouth. "Ewie." I say, half serious and half jokingly.

Since he rescued me from the cloaks, we've learned so much about each other. We're closer and stronger than ever. Mom and dad don't really like him because they think he's 'a bad influence' because they think I'm acting different. Really, I'm just being myself and happy.

"Weirdo. You could've just said 'yeah.'" He chuckles and sits in a black bean bag. He looks at me and smiles. I smile back, confused. Although I love that smile of his.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, which only makes him smile bigger.

"Because, you look good with a beanie on." He does his adorable cheeky grin, which makes my heart pound in my ears. I feel heat rise to my cheeks and I'm immediately glad I painted my room black. I start to hear pounding steps up the stairs and hear my father's voice. I panic.

"What's wrong?" Jamison watches me pace back and forth. I go to him and cover his mouth.

"Sh! Hide!" I whisper shout. I take my hand off his mouth and he finally understands. He hides in my closet as I rush to the light switch and turn the Christmas lights on that surround my bed. I grab my math, social studies, and language arts book and open them to page 352 and grab notebook paper. I sit down at the same time as dad opens the door.

"What's going on in here?" His voice fills the room. I shake my head.

"Nothing, dad. Just studying so I make sure I know what I'm doing when I get to school." I try to convince him, but he doesn't believe me. "Ah...okay..." He scans my room suspiciously and gets to the closet. I was about to say no but I covered my mouth and watched my dad open the closet door. He looks at me as he opens it and looks back in the closet. There stands a wide eyed Jamison Taylor in front of the eyes of my tall father.

"H-hi Mr. Jo-Jones." James stutters. Scared, obviously. I had a feeling this would happen.

"Taylor, out of my house. Now." Dad's deep voice makes Jamison scurry out of the room even faster. Without hesitation or saying good-bye, he rushes out of the room and out the front door.

Just me and Dad... "Lainna Belle Marie Jones. Why was Taylor in here?" He says calmly in his deep, terrifying voice. He also doesn't like saying Jamison's first name. I sigh and look down. I don't usually get yelled at by dad very often, it's usually mom who finds out.

"I honestly don't know. He was in here when I got in my room." I say, he nods his head understandingly.

"This is the fifth time Belly." He says, using my nickname he gave me when I was younger. I sigh and look at the ground.

"I know. But you guys don't like him. He never changed me. I'm just actually being myself and being happy. And you didn't have to scare him like that, you know." I says, looking up at him. This time he sighs and looks down.

"I'm sorry I looked at him the wrong way. I just want to look after my little princess and make sure she's okay." We look at each other and I smile, leaning into him.

"Dad." I whine, embarrassed. He laughs and gets up. "What? I'm serious. Maybe if we all had dinner together, are family with his, get to know him better, maybe we'll be fine with you dating him." He says and I smile.

"Thanks, old man." I say, lightly punching his shoulder. He smiles, walking out the door.